Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self: Theater Review

Story: A quintet of people known as the
Quimbies congregates in an amorphous area while Dr. G exists in a
catatonic state on the perimeter. Who exactly are the Quimbies? Are
they figments of Dr. G’s fertile imagination? Do they embody his
thoughts and dreams? Do they have any purpose or raison d’etre?
What do the series of illustrations in the background represent?
And why does Dr. G look so thoroughly depressed and despondent?
What are the reasons for his malaise, and is there any hope to
alleviate his spirits?

Highlights: Hold onto your seat and scratch
your head as you enter the convoluted world of Dr. G as conceived,
written and directed by HotCity associate director Chuck Harper.
Harper’s expanded title continues with “or Some Things That All
People Ought to Know About the Nature and Function of the Self: Its
Place in the Economy of Life, Its Proper Training and Its Righteous
Exercise.” Say what?

Harper’s 80-minute, one-act exercise in mental gymnastics is
described in the news release as a “madcap multi-media
dance-theatre comic exploration of self-help, sexual dysfunction,
1960s dance parties, obsessive-compulsive disorder, pharmaceutical
bliss and suicide.” No wonder Dr. G is in a zombie-like trance.

Other Info: Harper’s director’s notes include a
reference to “Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 comic film It’s a Mad,
Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Actually, it was a 1963 flick directed
by Stanley Kramer, although both Stanley K’s had impressive
oeuvres.

Anyway, Harper asks “what would happen if you took the idea of
‘self-help’ and the industry that surrounds it, smashed it together
with…Mad World and then looked at this smash-up through
the lens of a dream.” His less-than-lucid text cites sources on
sexual addiction, depression, suicide and “the agony of being.”
Apparently, too much thought and not enough action makes Jack a
confused boy.

After 80 minutes of observation, I confess that I have little
clue as to what transpired on stage. It did appear to have elements
of performance art and avant garde artistic expression where no
human has gone before. A considerable amount of time and talent
went into the elaborate and complex “Whammy doodles” created by
collaborator Mikey Butane, who also contributed the “Whammy
dances,” which I presume means the choreography, although Maggie
Conroy is credited with the “Whammy flow,” so I’m not sure.

Harper provides the disparate tunes that fill Dr. G’s troubled
psyche, and the bland world of white in Lex Van Blommestein’s
“Whammy world” is illuminated by Jim Wulfsong, including a pedestal
with a solitary banana and an array of folding chairs, cloths and
other accoutrements dangling from the ceiling. Marcy Weigert
provides the anti-septic togs adorning the players, all variations
of white save for Dr. G’s black sneakers and a pair of red sneakers
for Julie Venegoni’s plaintive tap dance.

Dr. G is played in mostly unresponsive fashion by Jeff Skoblow,
complete with furrowed brow. The curious Quimbies are comprised of
Harper, Venegoni, Conroy, Greg Fenner and Kate Frisina, each of
whom takes a turn relaying a story to the audience about some deep,
dark secret at the core of Dr. G’s heart of darkness. Plus, they
give new meaning to the line, “Is that a banana or are you just
happy to see me?”

HotCity’s release notes, “With the success of Chuck’s devised
piece The Probe at the Prague Fringe Festival, HotCity is currently
looking to perform Whammy! internationally in the near
future.” Good luck with that. You have the opportunity to witness
the professional premiere of Whammy! and decide for
yourself what the anticipated hoopla really, really means.

Rating: A 3 on a scale of 1-to-5

Group: HotCity Theatre GreenHouse Series with
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville’s Department of
Theatre and Dance